Speaking at the Colorado Judicial Institute’s Tenth Annual Judicial Excellence for Colorado dinner, former Iowa justices Marsha Ternus, David Baker, and Michael Streit stressed the importance to the business and legal communities of maintaining an independent judiciary. According to Justice Ternus, this is a critical factor for businesses in deciding where to locate, as they “want predictability and to know that the courts follow the facts of law, not the whims of special interest groups.” The justices described the well-organized, well-funded, and ultimately successful effort by conservative and evangelical groups in 2010 to vote them out in response to a unanimous 2009 decision recognizing a right to same-sex marriage under the state constitution—an effort that caught the state bar and the business community off-guard. Efforts to defend judicial independence were more successful in 2012, with the retention of Justice David Wiggins.

How does someone become a judge in the United States? The answer varies, and some methods for selecting judges are more effective than others. The Quality Judges Initiative is dedicated to promoting models for choosing, evaluating, and retaining judges that preserve impartiality, ensure public accountability, and keep politics from undermining the critical role of our judiciary.